Latch for vehicle-doors.



PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908.

P. O. ALTMANN. LATCH FOR IEHICLE DOORS. APPLICATION FILED 1330.16.1907.

' UNITE'E STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK c. ALTMANN, or NEW HAVEN, ooNNE cT1ci ir,AssIGNoR TO THE ENGLISH & MERSICK co, or NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

LATCH FOR VEHICLE-DOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 17, 1908.

Application filed December 16, 1907. Serial No. 406,631.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, FRANK G ALTMANN, o. citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven 5 and State of Connecticut, have invented n new and useful Improvement in Latches for Vehicle-Doors; and 1 do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters ofreierence nmrked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the some, and which said d rnwings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure In perspective view of a. bolt shown as applied to the inside of :1 vehicle door, the upholst ry being omitted. Fig. 2 an inside view the latch mechanism detached. Fig. 3 2. sectional view on the line a -b of Fig 2. F 4 a broken sectional view illustreting a. modified form of my invention.

This invention relsttes to an improvement in latches for vehicle doors, and particularly to latches whiclnare provided on the outside of the door with a handle by which the latch may be thrown, and inside the (loor'v'itl1' a lever which is moved back and forth to move the latch. In latches of. this character it is necessary to cut sway the door sullicieutly to provide for the throw of the lever and form it long slot for the lever in the upper edge of the door frame, and this slot in the upper edge of the door is unsightly.

The object of this invention is to operate I the latch a. vertically arranged rotatable shaft; and the invention consists in the construotion hereinafter described and pan ticularly'recited in the claims.

In carrying out my invention I have shown a latch of substantially usual form comprising a plate 2 and flange 3 through'which the latch bolt 4 extends. This latch-bolt is adopted to be thrown from the outside of the door by a, handle 5 having a spindle 6 hi h enters n, rnll rmnk 7 mounted in the case, the roll-back being in contact with a cam S on the said hitch-bolt 4, and the bolt is normally thrown outward bye spring 9. Instead of moving the latch-bolt by a lever which moves back and forth, I arrange a shaft 10 which extends upward through the top of the door, where it is provided with an operating handle 11. At its lower end this shaft is provided with a cam 12 in the nth of n. shoulder 13 on the upper, edge 0 the hitch bolt and so that by rotating the shaft 10 the latch bolt is drawn into the case. Thus by simply turning the handle 11 the shaft 10 is rotatedso as to move the latch.

It will be understood that in use the inside of the door is upholstered so that the latch case is co vered as well as the clearancegroove for the shaft. It is evident that instead of employing a cam 12 to operate thelatchbolt, various other means of connection may be employed. Thus as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings I have indicated the shaft 10 as provided at itslower end with a. pinion 14 adopted to mesh with the rack 15 formed in one side of the latch-bolt.

1. In it latch for vehicle doors, the combination with a horizontally movable belt, of o vertically arronged shaft, and connections between the shaft and bolt whereby with the rotation of the shaft the bolt is moved.

2. 1n n latch for vehicle doors, the combination with the bolt thereof, of a rotatable shaft, 21. com on said shift adapted to engage with said bolt, and on 0 crating handle at the upper end of the she t, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof} I havesigned this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses,

FRANK C. ALTMAN N W'itnessos:

F. J. LINsLEY, J. B. KENNEDY. 

